NK
hfm COOPER UNION MUSEUM
GALLERY GUIDE TO
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
A guide to a permanent changing exhibition
suggesting the nature of the Museum's col-
lections and the uses they serve.
SURFACE
Surface, as an element of design, records or creates
the textural character of an object. As a result of
natural structure, every object has its own unique
surface and a designer may rely exclusively on na-
ture for a finished article's artistic quality.
1 Two panels; carved oak
from the Chateau of Asnieres
France; about 1725
Given by the Council
From the collection of Leon Decloux 1908-24-18a, b
2 Pitcher; earthenware
Iran, Gurgan; 8th-9th century, A.D.
Purchased in memory of Georgiana L. McClellan
1957-198-2
On the other hand, he may transform a natural
surface into another, artificially created surface,
either through technical change of the medium or
through manipulation of other design elements.
Visually, surface is allied to our sense of touch.
Aesthetic reactions to surface are probably the
result of physical sensations dependent on touch
translated into a variety of associated ideas, sensa-
tions that allow us to sense the "feel" of any par-
ticular object.
3 Cap; quilted cotton and linen
France, La Rochelle; 19th century
Purchased in memory of Mrs. Samuel W. Bridgham
1951-46-2
4 Panel for a shroud; raffia cut and uncut velvet
Republic of the Congo, Kasai Province,
Baluba tribe; late 19th century
Purchased, Au Panier Fleuri Fund 1957-110-3
5 Tankard; stoneware and pewter
Germany, Siegburg; l6th century
Purchased in memory of Georgiana L. McClellaa
1959-34-2
6 Teapot; black basalt stoneware and brass
England, Staffordshire; about 1780
Bequest of Erskine Hewitt 1938-57-305
7 Tent for a Summit Talk, wall hanging; batik printed
cotton
Mary Dumas
United States, California; 1961
Purchased, Au Panier Fleuri Fund 1961-124-1
8 Study in Textures, etching; soft ground etching and
aquatint
Stephen Charles Gussman ( 1939- )
United States, New York; I960
Given by the Cooper Union School of Art and Archi-
tecture 1961-32-12
9 Vase; porcelain witli incised decoration
China; K'ang Hsi period (1662-1722)
Bequest of Annie I. Kane 1926-22-192
10 Bowl; high-fired earthenware
Madeleine Vermes
United States, New York; 1955
Purchased in memory of Georgiana L. McClellan
1955-64-6
11 Bowl; stoneware
Emile Decoeur (1876-1953) fsJK
France, Paris; 1940-1950 iL / A
Given by W. B. Dalton H'ts'tJ 1960-50-1
12 Textile; cut and uncut velvet
Italy; 17th century
Given by J. Pierpont Morgan 1902-1-426
13 Textile; silk and metal chiflFon
Elsberg & Cie.
France, Lyons; 1915-1925
Bequest of Herman A. Elsberg 1938-82-393
14 Rabbit; porcelain with underglaze painting
Royal Copenhagen Factory
Denmark, Copenhagen; about 1920
Bequest of Annie I. Kane 1926-37-210
15 Textile panel; silk embroidery on linen
Greek Islands; 18th- 19th century
Given by the Provident Securities Company from the
collection of Mr. and Mrs. William H. Crocker
1955-133-15
16 Purse; silk tapestry, copper and jadeite frame
Edith Huntington Snow (1876-1960)
United States; 1927
Given by Miss Edith Huntington Snow 1956-84-17
17 Presentation box; cinnabar lacquer
China, Soochow; Ch'ien Lung Period (1735-1795)
Bequest of Mary Hearn Greims 1927-5-28
18 Wallpaper; reproduction of 18th century wallpaper
in the Museum's collection
Thomas Strahan Company
United States, New York; 1922
Given by Miss Grace Lincoln Temple 1938-62-71
FORM
Form defines an object's shape in its structural re-
lation to space. With like shapes recurring in dif-
fering historical periods and in a variety of media,
design's shapes are largely inspired by either func-
tional necessity or shapes admired in nature.
19 Deep bowl; painted earthenware
Iran, from Syalk Necropolis B.; llth-lOth century
B.C.
Purchased in memory of Georgiana L. McClellan
1957-34-1
20 Bowl; ebony, ivory and silver
England; 1780-1789
Given anonymously 1957-100-1
21 Perspectiva Corporum Regularium
Wenzeln Jamnitzer (1508-1588); Engraved by Jost
Amman (1539-1591)
Germany, Nuremberg; 1586 (ed. of 1618)
Purchased in memory of David Wolfe Bishop
1957-192-3
22 Design for a long-case clock; etching
Antoine-Francois Vasse (1683-1735); etched by
Charles Nicolas Cochin, the Younger (1715-1790)
France; about 1734
Given by the Council
From the collection of Leon Decloux 1921-6-48
23 Side chair; carved cherry wood
Hector Guimard (1867-1942)
France; 1908
Given by Mme. Hector Guimard 1948-114-1
24 Charcoal stove; glazed earthenware
France; mid-18th century
Given by the Misses Hewitt 1931-88-178
Spatially, an object may itself be three-dimensional
in shape, may create a three-dimensional effect
through a juxtaposition of solids and voids, or it
may create a three-dimensional illusion on a two-
dimensional surface.
25 Armchair; metal tubing and gray canvas
Marcel Breuer (1902- )
Bauhaus Workshop
Germany, Dessau; 1925
Given by Gary Laredo 1956-10-1
26 Textile; silk and metal
Japan; late 19th-early 20th century
Given in memory of Alice Neill Carter 1937-34-1
27 Textile; block-printed linen
Gregory Brown
England; about 1925
Given by Miss Marian Ha^ue 1937-1-13
28 Textile; wool and linen tapestry
Egypt; 3rd-4th century A.D.
Given by J. Pierpont Morgan 1902-1-151
From the Stanislas Baron Collection
29 Wine jug; terra-cotta covered with black varnish
Italy, region of Naples; 3rd century B.C.
Given by Charles W. Gould 1915-11-39
30 Sugar bowl with cover; Melamine Boontonware
Designed by Belle Kogan
United States, New Jersey; about 1958
Given by Miss Belle Kogan 1959-59-45
31 Newel post; carved oak
France; 1740-1750
Given by Miss Eleanor Garnier Hewitt 1909-15-1
Frequently, on a flat surface, abstractions of shapes
have a deliberately two-dimensional character, rep-
resenting another approach to form in design.
32 Le Gros Poisson Noir, plate; earthenware,
slip and incised decoration
Pablo Picasso (1881- )
France, Vallauris; 16 April, 1957
Given by Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Saidenberg
1960-112-1
33 Chair back; wool and silk embroidery on linen
France; early 18th century
Given by Harvey Smith 1954-82-9
LINE
Line, or linear design, is most often a natural result
of a designer's use of particular materials. Wrought
iron, metal wire, lace, and nearly all forms of
calligraphic design seem to lend themselves best
to two-dimensional decoration. A corollary and
equally natural result is the frequent similarity of
motifs in linear design.
34 Trains, screen-printed on glazed cotton
Designed by Saul Steinberg (1908- )
United States, New York; 1950-1955
Given by Patterson Fabrics 1958-153-1
35 Trains, screen-printed wallpaper
Designed by Saul Steinberg (1908- )
United States, New York; 1950-1955
Given by Piazza Prints, Inc. 1956-177-1
36 Composition in calligraphy
Turkey; 18th century
Purchased in memory of John R. Safford 1953-164-1
37 Panel; needle lace, "Point de Venise'
Italy, Venice; 17th century
Given by Raimundo de Madrazo 1898-1-1
Function is a further determining influence on
linear design. An object's use may be defined, as
well as its shape emphasized and the technique of
its creation explained, all through the individual
nature of linear design.
38 Grille; wrought iron
France; mid-18th century
Given by George Arnold Hearn 1901-11-2
39 Woodblock for printing textiles
Persia; 17th century
Purchased, Au Panier Fleuri Fund 1957-99-1
40 Birdcage; ivory, wood, metals, jade, enamel,
kingfisher feathers, amethyst
China; Ch'ien Lung Period (1735-1796)
Given by Thomas F. Ryan 1926-22-97
41 Lantern clock (Yagura-Dokei); lacquer on wood
Japan; 18th century
Bequest of Annie L Kane 1926-22-97
42 Rocking chair; wrought iron with plush upholstery
Designed by Peter Cooper (1791-1883)
United States, Trenton Iron Works; about I860
Given by Norvin Hewitt Green 1938-58-1457
COLOR
Color, the most commonplace of visual luxuries, is
among the most difficult to understand of the ele-
ments of design. The results of intuitive uses of
color by artists, craftsmen and designers frequently
parallel the facts ascertainable through scientific
research. There is no color without light, according
to the laws of physics, and all color is constantly
changing as light itself changes, however im-
perceptibly.
43 Additive mixture of color
The three additive primary colors of light are red,
blue and green, here falling on the cube from filtered
light sources above.
Beneath the cube the mixture of red and blue pro-
duces magenta, that of blue and green produces
cyan, and that of green and red produces yellow. In
each case, the color produced is complementary to
the color of the light source intercepted by the cube.
Yellow is complementary to blue, cyan to red, and
magenta to green.
The mixture of red, blue and green light at a single
point on the top surface of the cube produces white
light.
Diverse phenomena in nature create colors in full
range of the spectrum, similar to the phenomena
seen in a rainbow, a soap bubble and an oil slick.
44 Candelabrum; cut glass on base of ormolu and
Wedgwood jasperware
Given by Irwin Untermyer 195 6- 179-1 A
45 Headdress ornament; kingfisher feathers on lacquer
China; mid- 19th century
Given by William Dangaix Allen 1939-73-11
46 Flask; blown and cut glass
Iran; 9th- 10th century
Purchased in memory of Annie I. Kane 1959-90-1
47 Bracelet; glass
Syria; lst-5th century A.D.
Given anonymously 1928-15-1
48 Newton's Rings, spectrum produced on glass film
suspended in bubble as a result of natural phe-
nomenon called interference.
Designed and made by H. O. Morgan
United States, New Jersey; I960
Given by H. O. Morgan 1960-251-1
49 Abalone shell
50 Vase; Favrile glass
Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933)
United States, New York; 1900-1910
Given anonymously 1952-166-33
51 Sheet diffraction grating, 13,400 lines to the inch,
used for measurement of wave lengths in the
visible spectrum.
Given by the Physics Department, Cooper Union
School of Engineering
Color may be imagined as a three-dimensional solid
consisting of hue, value (relative degree between
white and black), and chroma (relative bright-
ness).
52 Four cross sections of a pigment solid constructed
around a slanting value scale axis:
a. Top of pigment solid viewed from above
b. Middle cross-section of pigment solid
c. Bottom of pigment solid
d. Vertical cross-section of cylindrical pigment
solid
Oil on fiberboard
Hilaire Hiler ( 1898- )
United States; 1936-1937
Given by Hilaire Hiler 1960-244-11,-12,-13,-15
53 Munsell color tree; hue, value and chroma for ten
major hues
Given by the Munsell Color Company, Inc.
1960-143-1
Color is naturally created or artificially manufac-
tured in ways that are essentially chemical in origin
and technique.
54 Raw glazes and fired glaze samples
Given by American Art Clay Company
55 Raw cosmetic pigments
Given by H. Kohnstamn & Company, Inc.
56 Automobile paint color samples
Given by Allied Chemical Corporation,
National Aniline Division, Harmon Colors
57 Beaker; earthenware, crazed copper glaze
Theodore Deck (1823-1891)
France; late 19th century
Given by the Misses Hewitt 1931-48-21
58 Cup; ceramic frit
Egypt; XVIII-XIX dynasty (I6th-13th centuries,
B.C.)
Purchased in memory of the Misses Hewitt
1960-29-1
59 Lamp; earthenware
Mesopotamia, Rakka; 12th- 13th century
Purchased in memory of David Wolfe Bishop
1958-72-3
60 'Shawabti' (figure of a servant for the after-life);
faience
Egypt; late dynastic, 7th-4th century B.C.
Given by the Estate of David Wolfe Bishop
1951-84-40
61 Figurine of lion-headed goddess; glass paste
Egypt; late dynastic, 7th-6th century B.C.
Given by the Estate of David Wolfe Bishop
1951-84-21
62 The Immaculate Virgin; porcelain, polychrome and
gilt
Model attributed to Wenzel Ney
Germany, Fulda; 1770-1780
Given by the Trustees of the Estate of
Jarhes Hazen Hyde 1960-1-4^
63 Textile; brocaded silk taffeta dyed with fuchsine,
the earliest stable synthetic dye
France; late 19th century
Given by J. Pierpont Morgan 1902-l-803a
Color is perceived through a complex series of
actions involving the eye and the brain. Optical
response accounts for such phenomena as the
simultaneous contrast of colors.
64 De la Lot du Contraste Simultane des Couleurs,
book
Michel-Eugene Chevreul (1786-1889)
France; Paris; 1839
Cooper Union Museum Library
65 Snuff bottle; cameo-cut overlay glass
China; Tao Kuang period (1821-1851)
■...Given by the Misses Hewitt 1931-64-51
(}(> Blouse; cotton and rayon applique and patchwork
Panama, San Bias Islands; 20th century
Given by Mrs. John "Winslow 1960-58-1
Optical mixture of two colors, in which the eye
sees neither as it is seen in isolation but an
apparent third color, is called fusion.
61 Scarf; silk ikat
Bali; 19th century
Given by Mrs. R. Keith Kane from the
Estate of Mrs. Robert B. Noyes 1943-5-10
68 Detail and enlargement of a poster printed in Three-
Color Process
69 Two exercises in color luminosity; tempera on card-
board
Modesto Chiesa
United States, New York; I960
Lent by the Cooper Union School of Art and
Architecture
70 Plates from The Four-Color Process Guide
Published by Collier Photo Engraving Company
Printed by Graphic Publishing Company, Inc.
United States, New York; I960
Given by Louis Dorfsman 1960-84-1
71 Pythagoras; screen-printed cotton
Designed by Sven Markelius (1889- )
Sweden; 1950-1955
Produced and given by Knoll Associates, Inc.
1956-123-1
72 Demonstration of lighting differences on color
Made by General Electric Company, Large Lamp
Department
Purchased, Pauline Riggs Noyes Fund 1960-252-1
73 Design for a Chinese Pavilion; watercolor and . . ,
tempera
Frederick Grace (1779-1857)
England, London; 1815-1822
Purchased in memory of Annie I. Kane 1948-40-79
74 Processional objects; opaque watercolor
China; 1794-1804
Purchased in memory of Emily Rowland Chauncey
1960-221-1
75 Spectrum; printed cotton
Designed by Rolf Middelboe
Denmark; 1950-1955
Given by Jack Lenor Larsen, Inc. 1960-170-1
The use of color as symbol is not alone restricted
to rank or ritual; it also serves as a method of
identification, today as well as in the past.
76 Birdcage; glass, metal and wood
Traditional symbolism links blue domes with the
celestial world
Italy; early 19th century
Given by the Misses Hewitt 1916-19-92
77 Two playing cards; block-printed in color
Spain; early 19th century
Given by Mrs. Edward C. Moen 1952-135-1
78 Bracelet with amulets; coral and gold
Coral has been thought by many peoples to have
homoeopathic magical powers
Italy; about 1870
Given from the Estate of and in memory of
Mrs. Robert B. Noyes 1946-50-19
79 Necklace; coral, gold and silver
Turkey; late 19th century
Given by Miss Sarah Cooper Hewitt 1931-6-182
80 Multi-conductor cable, pre-wired hook-up for a
complex electrical circuit. Colors serve as guide in
final assembly. 1960-253-1
81 Kian, embroidered nuptial scarf; hemp and metal on
ramie.
Orange, red and black are considered the requisite
colors for a wedding in parts of the Buddhist
world.
Sumatra; late 19th century
Purchased, Au Panier Fleuri Fund 1956-18-1
82 Chart of code for identification of heraldic colors,
the earliest known system of color codification.
The importance of color in heraldry derives from its
dual use as symbol of a clan or family, and of
personal attributes of individual members of the
clan or family.
83 Seal box and cover, with seal of Leopold II (1747-
1792); brass and sealing wax
Austria; 1790-1792
Given by the Estate of Mrs. Lathrop Colgate Harper
1957-l65-15a, b
84 Gaming purse; silk and metal, embroidered
Austria or Germany; mid- 18th century
Given by Irwin Untermyer 1959-170-4
RHYTHM
Rhythm is more often associated with music and
poetry than with visual design, but is, nevertheless,
an integral part of the designer's craft. An orderly
repetition of pattern, color or motif, rhythm pro-
duces exactly the same stimulus for the eye as does
verbal or musical rhythm for the ear.
Variations in pattern, ranging from a simple scroll
to an intricate series of mixed motifs in which
variations of technique as well as design add to an
overall rhythmic character, allow for degrees of
complexity in rhythmic pace.
85 Designs for stencilled wall decoration; pencil and
opaque watercolors
Austria, Vienna; about 1830
Purchased in memory of Mary Hearn Grimes
1940-120-9,-5a;-24,-7
86 Baroque Stripe, wallpaper; silk-screened paper
Jack Lenor Larsen (1927- )
United States; I960
Given by Karl Mann Associates 1960-91-1
87 Citadel, wallpaper; silk-screened paper
Jack Lenor Larsen (1927- )
United States; I960
Given by Karl Mann Associates 1960-91-2
88 Stage Design: A Palace Hall; pen and ink with
ink and grey washes
Manner of Ferdinando (Galli) Bibiena (1657-1743)
Italy; about 1740
Purchased, General Funds
From the Piancastelli Collection 1938-88-73
89 Two-dimensional Construction; wood on cardboard
Ayielda Sikora (1942- )
United States, New York; I960
Given by the Cooper Union School of Art and
Architecture 1961-20-2
90 Panel; carved oak
France; 1795-1805
Given by George Arnold Hearn 1902-9-4
91 Textile panel; silk embroidery on linen
Greek Islands, Thasos; 18th century
Given by the Provident Securities Company
From the collection of Mr. and Mrs. William H.
Crocker 1955-133-1
92 Two furniture mounts; gilt bronze
France; about 1800
Given by Jacob H. Schiff 1904-20-553,-137
93 Wave at Salt a Point, from the Thirty -six Views oj
Fuji series:
Woodcut in colors
Hiroshige (Ichiryusai) (1797-1858)
. Japan; about 1857
Given by the Estate of Mrs. Robert H. Patterson
1941-31-120
94 Seal, initials A. G.; gilt bronze
Hector Guimard (1867-1942)
France; about 1905
Given by Mme. Hector Guimard 1956-76-3
95 Three textiles; block-printed cotton
Raoul Dufy (1877-1953)
France; 1920-1924
Purchased, Au Panier Fleuri Fund 1934-14-1,-2,-4
96 Wallpaper; machine-printed with details printed
from v70odblocks
England; 1890-1895
Given by Miss Annie May Hegeman 1936-5-4
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